Came across a Marfin Brush on a website........They are beautiful and super expensive!! $350 on that site My wife would kill me LOL Anyone have one or know anything about them.
They are hand made and are beautiful in terms of art and craftsmanship. They are in an art style much like Picasso's paintings. Though beautiful, they would not seem to be very ergonomic under repeated use. Here is a link to Marfin brushes. http://www.italianbarber.com/brushes?sort&filter_id=198 Here is an image of one.
Call me heretic, but I don't like their look. For sure wood is great, especially red mahogany which I love a lot, and finish seems thick, durable and superb, but shape isn't for me. For that money (if I had it) would be happier with 10x 35$ brushes
They are pretty but I can't imagine them being any better than Simpson or (insert other high end but less expensive maker here). I'm in the 10 x $35 group as well. You could find a dream brush out of those 10 brushes. I think I would have buyer's remorse big time. For instance, my two main brushes are a Vulfix Grosvenor hybrid and a Semogue Owner's club boar (in cherry). Both are in the $35 range and both get used far more than my handmade 25mm Edwin Jagger silver tip that was 6 times their price. And while I appreciate the beauty of the wood, like GDC said, it doesn't look very ergonomic. I saw they have some other really interesting but not super practical handles also. If you have the coin and the want, please let us know how it is and take pics
I'd rather cut up my Stanwell pipe and make one just like it for $100.00 On the other hand, I've had that pipe since I was 16 and it at least has sentimental value, so no thanks.
The problem stems from whether it is purchased as an art piece or a functional piece. The best brushes, in my opinion, combine elements of both with the function being of greatest importance, then the art serving as a complementary piece. These brushes pass the art test and is more than likely to be purchased by someone who want to have a beautiful display piece because the functionality simply is just not there as I stated earlier in a more muted fashion. When you make a lot of brushes, you become a little more sensitive in how you critique the brushes that others make. When I refurbish or on the rare occasion design a brush from scratch, I look at the entire brush as an extension of the hand. It must work with the hand and not against it. If it does not work in the hand, I do not need to make it and I try to steer people from difficult to hold shapes unless they truly want a show piece. Again the craftsmanship seems top notch and the brushes are very beautiful, but they look like they do belong in an art museum because they are works of art.
I wonder if these are made by a pipe maker trained in the Danish method. All of those brushes really have a Danish pipe vibe to them. High end Danish pipes are also functional works of art.
All great points......Although ergonomically impractical these brushes are pretty. WAY to expensive for my blood.
I'm with Dusan, although the wood is certainly beautiful and I'm sure the craftsmanship is excellent, the handle shapes/designs do absolutely nothing for me..I much prefer my $5 #6 horsehair(?) from "bestshave"..For that kind of money I could buy 10 #6's and spend the rest of the $300 on safety razors,soaps,bowls/scuttles,blades and aftershaves etc.
I agree with Dusan too. The shape is not for me. And 350$ is too much for any brush. For 350$ I can buy a Russian bride.
